Portland Zombie Walk

Every year since 2005, on one day in October, hundreds of zombies shuffle around the city center for the annual Portland Zombie Walk. A thrilling horror show event, the Portland Zombie Walk is a sort of live art installation lasting a few hours. It looks a bit like a scene from m George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, or a hundred other zombie movies.

The Portland Zombie Walk is an opportunity for the wonderfully weird people of Portland to hit the streets in full zombie make-up and attire. The zombies provide an entertaining break for downtown shoppers, tourists, and locals. Hundreds of people of all ages join the parade of zombies, doing their best to stay in character, with ghoulish expressions, fake blood, moans, groans, shrieks, and the ever-present yearn-full grumble of “Braaaaaains“.

Thanks to the amazing, cool, creative people of Portland for bringing us this artistically inspired event!

Zombie Walk Pictures and information about the Portland Zombie Walk can be found by following this link:

2016 Portland Zombie Walk Announced!

In a back dated post, the Portland Zombie Walk facebook page announced that the 11th annual Portland Zombie Walk will be on Monday, October 31st from 3 to 6 PM. The Zombie Walk will begin and end at Pioneer Courthouse Square. No route or further details have been announced.

Thrill The World Dance

Leading up to the Zombie Walk is the annual Thrill The World Dance. Dozens of reanimated corpses join forces in a street performance to the Thriller song by Michael Jackson. Portland zombies take the Thrill the World Dance seriously. Weeks of practice precede the event. Like the Zombie Walk, the Thriller dance is organized by volunteers. Thrill the World Portland 2016 was a benefit for the Sexual & Gender Minority Youth Resource Center (SMYRC) and Sankofa Collective Nortwest. The 2015 Thrill the World dance in Portland also benefited SMYRC.

Word has it that the first Thrill the World dance took place in Toronto in 2006.

According to Wikipedia, Thrill the World is an annual international dance event and world record breaking attempt, in which participants simultaneously emulate the zombie dance seen in the music video of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, and the title of the event is an allusion to another of Jackson’s songs, Heal the World. The dancers perform in unison at locations throughout the world, and can range from pre-teens to the elderly. Ines Markeljevic created the event “Thrill Toronto” where she taught a group of 62 zombies the dance in a mere couple of hours and they set the first Guinness World Records for Largest Thriller Dance in one location, at a community hall in Canada. Ines Markeljevic is dance instructor and entrepreneur from Toronto, Canada, whose personal mission is to unite the world through dance.

Following the event in Toronto, Canada in 2006, Thrill The World was launched in 2007. 1,722 people in 80 cities from 17 different countries participated in the event. Donations were made during the Irvine, California dance to the American Red Cross, who used the money to aid victims of the October 2007 California wildfires. The year after, Thrill the World returned for its second event, in which 91 venues from 13 different countries participated. The event coincided with the 25th anniversary of Jackson’s album Thriller.

More Zombies!

Many other zombie hordes have gathered in Portland and the surrounding communities over the years. Various dances, parties, and zombie walks have taken place. Portland bars has also got in on the act, hosting zombie nights.

2016 Red Dress Partyreddresspdx.com

In 2016, the well-known and widely attended Red Dress Party featured a zombie theme. The event was titled Walking Red. The Red Dress Party is an charitable event benefiting those battling HIV and AIDS.

PortlandZombies.com will announce zombie gatherings if notified and we’d love to have you share your photos on our Facebook page. Photos can also be emailed to webmaster@portlandzombies.com.

Portland Erotic Ball 2016
The biggest, most incredible and immersive masquerade, fetish and kink-themed dance, play and fantasy parties began 15 years ago by Emmy-nominated female impersonator Sasha Scarlett.

Sasha produces Erotic Ball events and other fabulous parties around the globe. Fasten your seat belts and get ready to party!

The 2016 Portland Erotic Ball will be held at:Crystal Ballroom
1332 W Burnside St.
Portland, OR 97209

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